From developer Overload Audio comes Echodude BBD-150, a free vintage delay plugin for macOS and Windows.
Overload Audio is taking us back to the 1980s with a virtual recreation of classic bucket brigade delay units, particularly inspired by the Melos DE-1 and the Echoman EM-150.
I’m not familiar with these hardware units, but I didn’t need to dig very deep to discover that they are one and the same.
The Echoman EM-150 is essentially a rebadged Melos DE-1.
These desktop analog BBD units gained some popularity in the 80s as a great way to get the classic dub-style echo. It seems their appeal hasn’t entirely worn off today, and they provide an affordable entry into analog delay hardware.
In a quick search, I found second-hand units for around £75-140.
Overload Audio’s offering is Echodude BBD-150, and, as you can see, it looks just like the hardware.
Echodude BBD-150 is available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS and Windows.
The developer prioritised a faithful recreation of the signal behaviour in classic BBD delays. This attention to the input drive, feedback response, and modulation behaviour leans nicely into the dub-style echo made famous by artists like Lee “Scratch” Perry.
You also have clock artefact modelling for added authenticity.
As a subtle delay, you can still inject lots of character with the typical warm or dark delay expected from a BBD device, without entering chaotic territory.
But if you want to add a more aggressive character, you can lean more into the swooshing or almost detuned effects that come from BBD chips’ modulation behaviour. You can also get into self-oscillation and run a little wilder.
One thing I like about emulations of hardware units that aren’t the most expensive or desirable is that they are at the foundation of so much grass-roots music, whether it’s current bedroom producers or artists who later went on to fame and fortune, and there’s some authenticity in that.
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Last Updated on March 17, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
